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Generally cloudy. High 84F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph..
Cloudy skies early with scattered thunderstorms developing late. Low 66F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.
Generally cloudy. High 84F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph..
Cloudy skies early with scattered thunderstorms developing late. Low 66F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.
Connecting the Valley to Print and Digital
From left, David Gunsallus, Larson Design Group; Union County Commissioner Stacy Richards; Jeff Reber, Union County commissioner chair; Greg Albert, Larson Design Group; Matt Wagner, Mifflinburg Borough Council and Union County Historical Society; Joe McCarthy, Lancaster County Timber Frames; Jon Guizar, Nestleroad Contracting; Rep. Stephanie Borowicz (R-76); and Darwin Swope, from the office of Rep. David Rowe (R-85), cut the ribbon on the newly restored Hassenplug Covered Bridge.
Bob Kuether, The Theodore Burr Covered Bridge Society of Pennsylvania president, points to plaque describing the attributes of the Burr truss.
Bob Kuether, The Theodore Burr Covered Bridge Society of Pennsylvania president, and James Smedley, vice president, attended a recent ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the reopening of the Hassenplug Covered Bridge, Mifflinburg, following a $750,000 bridge rehabilitation project.
From left, David Gunsallus, Larson Design Group; Union County Commissioner Stacy Richards; Jeff Reber, Union County commissioner chair; Greg Albert, Larson Design Group; Matt Wagner, Mifflinburg Borough Council and Union County Historical Society; Joe McCarthy, Lancaster County Timber Frames; Jon Guizar, Nestleroad Contracting; Rep. Stephanie Borowicz (R-76); and Darwin Swope, from the office of Rep. David Rowe (R-85), cut the ribbon on the newly restored Hassenplug Covered Bridge.
Bob Kuether, The Theodore Burr Covered Bridge Society of Pennsylvania president, points to plaque describing the attributes of the Burr truss.
Bob Kuether, The Theodore Burr Covered Bridge Society of Pennsylvania president, and James Smedley, vice president, attended a recent ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the reopening of the Hassenplug Covered Bridge, Mifflinburg, following a $750,000 bridge rehabilitation project.
MIFFLINBURG — Barriers along Mifflinburg’s North Fourth Street were removed Wednesday afternoon as the Hassenplug Covered Bridge was opened to traffic again.
Union County officials said the $750,000 project replaced the steel grate deck with wood planks supported by galvanized steel beams underneath. Fixing up abutment portions which had deteriorated, repaving the roadway approaching the bridge and stabilizing the Buffalo Creek channel underneath were also part of the project.
Mifflinburg Borough Council Member Matt Wagner, also a Union County Historical Society board member, told the gathering before the ribbon cutting that the bridge was named for the owner of a brick house to the north of the span. He added that the builder of the bridge in the 19th Century was unknown.
Wagner said the Hassenplug Bridge, also known as Union County Bridge 13, was last rehabilitated in 1959. Rules regarding bridge use were posted over the entrances to the covered bridge.
“Any person riding or driving at any other gait than a walk, driving more than 15 head of cattle or carrying fire in any way over this bridge is subject to a fine of $30,” Wagner recalled. “I don’t know if that was ever enforced.”
The bridge was constructed using Burr trusses, named for Theodore Burr, cousin of Vice President Aaron Burr.
The Burr truss, curved and stretching the length of the bridge on both sides, is commemorated by a plaque inside the covered bridge. It describes its attributes as well as those of the bowstring truss and the Rowe truss.
A plaque commemorating the 2022 restoration is above it and lists the names of current county commissioners and other contributing officials.
Bob Kuether, The Theodore Burr Covered Bridge Society of Pennsylvania president, noted there are 210 covered bridges in Pennsylvania. Keeping them open for normal use is among the society’s goals.
“It is a major goal,” he said. “So many areas are bypassing them.”
Kuether added that the group recently raised funds to paint a couple of bridges.
James Smedley, The Theodore Burr Covered Bridge Society vice president, confirmed that the Hassenplug bridge was the oldest covered bridge open to traffic in the United States. He said the Hyde Hall Covered Bridge in Otsego County, New York, is a few months older, but is not open to traffic.
Smedley, of York, said the group recently restored a covered bridge in Bucks County. He added that a trip to the Hollingshead Covered Bridge near Catawissa was planned for the afternoon.
The Hollingshead Bridge was reportedly damaged earlier in the week by a driver who left the scene. Smedley said photos for the Theodore Burr Covered Bridge Society newsletter and a national newsletter would be the order of the day, along with a conversation with law enforcement investigating the incident.
Reports alleged that a white box truck with a green circle and black lettering took out a number of support beams resulting in “significant damage.”
Staff writer Matt Farrand can be reached at 570-742-9671 and via email at matt@standard-journal.com.
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